This invention relates to residential construction industry practices for building under-floor support structure using joists, methods used to strengthen joist installations, and to the practices of the electrical, plumbing, gasfitter, and heating-cooling trades for installing and affixing their utilities delivery wiring, pipe, conduit, or ducting in under-floor spaces.
In the last several decades, general contractors in the consumer residential construction industry have experienced materials costs rising faster than the average consumer's ability to afford home price increases. This erodes industry profit margins. To compensate, the residential construction industry increasingly builds only to minimum standards and omits construction items not required by building codes. The result is lower quality, less durability, and higher consumer repair costs and lower structural integrity. One area where the impacts are easily noticeable is floor joist construction. Building codes only require sixteen inch spacing even though some experts recommend twelve inch spacing. Some builders do not even achieve the minimum standards completely. The increasing sophistication of utility technologies requires more pipes and wires, which are often routed through holes in joists which further weaken joists. Advisable reinforcing techniques like “bridging,” joist hole reinforcing plates, and other related techniques are rarely done anymore. This situation creates a need for cost effective means to improve and evolve on-site floor joist building techniques and technology.